100. The Committee recalled that it had noted at its 29th Session the pictorial manual on can defects included in the Procedures for the Visual Inspection of Lots of Canned Foods (CAC/GL 17-1993) had not yet been published. The Committee was informed that the Codex Secretariat was seeking ways to make the manual available on Internet or by other means.
101. The Observer from IAEA informed the Committee that the Joint FAO/IAEA Division in Vienna had established a new training and reference center on food and pesticide control, whose activities would include those related to microbiological contamination. It was indicated that the center would become shortly fully operational in the area of laboratory technique as well as HACCP training.
102. The Observer from PAHO indicated that two information centers were offering technical assistance to Member States in various areas of food control. He stressed the importance of epidemiological database in combating foodborne disease.
103. The Observer from ISO informed the Committee that a document on the ISO Validation Methods had been made available[28].
104. The Representative of WHO brought to the attention of the Committee two expert meetings which had met recently: a WHO Consultation on the prevention and control of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection (April 1997) and a Joint FAO/IAEA/WHO Study Group on high-dose irradiation of food.
105. The Delegation of Argentina noted that the delay in distribution of Codex working documents in Spanish and its negative impact on the development of government comments as well as on the efficiency of the interpretation during the Committee session.
106. The Delegation of Australia presented the report of the ad hoc working group on the priorities for the revision of the hygienic provisions of Codex Codes of Practice.[29] The Working Group recommended that the Codes be grouped on the basis of the likelihood of common hygiene requirements, and prioritized for revision on the basis of impacts on food safety and trade. A table of suggested groupings was attached to the report of the working group. The Working group also recommended that CCFH formally assume responsibility for work done under the Committee on Meat Hygiene and other Codes of Hygienic Practice which were currently under the responsibility of commodity committees. The Committee decided to circulate the conclusions of the working group report to governments comment and discussion at the next session of the Committee. It was noted that the text of the Code of Practice for Dried Milk could be useful in the revision work of certain codes.
107. The Delegation of Germany informed the Committee that the revised text of the Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Control of Listeria monocytogenes, which could not be provided at this session, would be circulated prior to the next session of the Committee. Many delegations indicated that this work should advance without delay since this document would serve as a model to the future work addressing other pathogens.
108. The Committee agreed to initiate the following new work pending approval by the Executive Committee:
- Discussion paper on the Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Primary Production, Harvesting and Packaging of Fresh Produce, to be prepared by the drafting group lead by Canada, with assistance from Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico (as the host government of the Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables), the United Kingdom and the United States. The Proposed Draft Code should also address the issue of the use of manure in the production of sprout seeds.109. The Committee noted that, in addition to the above, its Future Work would consist of the following items:- Discussion paper on the Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Pre-cut Fruits and Vegetables, to be prepared by the drafting group lead by France, with assistance from Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico (as the host government of the Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables), the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay. This and the above documents would be drafted in close cooperation with CCFFV.
- Discussion paper on the Proposed Draft Annex on "Cleaning and Disinfection" to the Recommended International Code of Practice - General Principles of Food Hygiene, to be prepared by the United States, with assistance from the United Kingdom.
- Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Assessment at Step 6/7- Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Packaged (Bottled) Drinking Waters (other than Natural Mineral Water) at Step 6/7
- Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products at Step 2/3/4
- Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for the Transport of Foodstuffs in Bulk and Semi-Packed Foodstuffs at Step 2/3/4
- Proposed Draft Recommendations for the control of Listeria monocytogenes in Foods in International Trade at Step 2/3/4
- Proposed Draft Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding at Step 2/3/4
- Proposed Guidelines for Hygienic Recycling of Processing Water in Food Plants at Step 2/3/4
- Prioritization of the revision of Codes of Hygienic Practice
- Recommendations for the Management of Microbiological Hazards for Foods in International Trade
- Broader Issues on the Application of Microbiological Risk Evaluation in International Food and Feed Trade
- Regular Survey of Member Countries on the Development and Implementation of HACCP and related Systems
- Development of Risk-Based Guidance for the Use of HACCP-like Systems in Small Businesses
